Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: Underselling the bane of our lives
TheWoody wrote:
What's wrong with you freaks? 75k was my minimum for R3 droids last December! With inflation and the new cool toys they should easily be in the 95-100k range by now.
In a capitalistic market there is never more justification than what the buyers will pay. Remember, you only need to sell 1 droid at 75k to make up for 3 droids at 25k. True, only one person gets a droid but it means you do only one third theeffort and other players who want the droid actually will have something to work for. Goals are a big part of any MMORPG. if you can just breeze through everything you'll be bored of the game inside of a month.
Kollos wrote:
People are going to have to use better resources in order to compete for sales, and as they start using better resources they're going to realize that they have to charge more to pay for their time. (Either that or they'll go broke/burn out.)
jemelby wrote:
One thing I have not heard mentioned here specifically is factory time. Did you know that all the seperate componets for an R3 ADV Combat droid takes 1 hours and 46 minutes? (Thats X amount of time for 9 brains, 2 advanced brains, 8 GP modules, etc...) An Combat Advanced Probot takes 1 hour and 2 minutes.
While the actuall expense of running a factory is inconsequencial, the PitA (Pain in the A$$) factor is HUGE! It takes close to 40 seperate parts to make an R3 Advanced Combat. When viewed in this light, I don't even THINK of a price scheme based on CPU, I go with the PitA method which goes something like this: Each sub-sub-sub component costs 1000, sub-sub cost 800, sub-componets cost 600, componets cost 500. THEN I tack on an additional 3 CPU for the total resources required. 5 CPU if there is some really scarce stuff required. In the end, I charge 60K for a near-perfect R3 ADV Combat.
Now, lets talk Advanced Droid Repair Kit Ds.... no, never mind.
93% is what I am currently able to do and that gives me a rating of 102.
Kollos wrote:
91% only gives me 98 CR while 89% gives me 97 CR, so my guess would be 95% to get a combat rating of at least 100. And yes, when you spread OQ over the ingredients needed to do it, it is actually somewhat difficult to pull off.
regarding prices, I currently sell my R3's at about 48k, and my probots and LE's for about 20k. I come up with those numbers with a complicated spreadsheet that enables me to dial in separate costs for each of the resources used. For the resources that are easy to get and for which quality doesn't mean squat, I set a cost of 5cpu. For things like lidium extrusive ore and other rare and hard to keep in stock resources, I set a cost of15-30 cpu. I then add multipliers from 1X - 3X on top of the calculated resource cost based primarily upon the "PITA" factor (though I also increase multipliers based upon what I think people will pay). I then watch the sales on the vendor and adjust the scaling factors up and down based upon what the market can tolerate. I.e., for items that are selling faster than I can make them, I raise the prices. For items that are not selling well, I either lower the prices (if I can do so and still make a profit) or I cut back on how often I manufacture that item.
In any case, 48k for the R3's and 20k for the LE's and Probots isenough for me to make a nice profit. But I am watching the sales on these new combat droids. Ifthey sell faster than expected,those prices will increase. I expect I may be raising the prices on the LE's and Probots soon.
Regarding Woody's comment about why "charging 3X the price means you have 3X the profit, if people will pay that price": it's not that simple. It's also a question of sales volume. If I charge 3X the price but it takes me longer than 3X the time to sell the same number of droids, then my volume decreases by more than the sales increase and I make less money in each given increment of time than I would make if I charged lower prices.
regarding prices, I currently sell my R3's at about 48k, and my probots and LE's for about 20k. I come up with those numbers with a complicated spreadsheet that enables me to dial in separate costs for each of the resources used. For the resources that are easy to get and for which quality doesn't mean squat, I set a cost of 5cpu. For things like lidium extrusive ore and other rare and hard to keep in stock resources, I set a cost of15-30 cpu. I then add multipliers from 1X - 3X on top of the calculated resource cost based primarily upon the "PITA" factor (though I also increase multipliers based upon what I think people will pay). I then watch the sales on the vendor and adjust the scaling factors up and down based upon what the market can tolerate. I.e., for items that are selling faster than I can make them, I raise the prices. For items that are not selling well, I either lower the prices (if I can do so and still make a profit) or I cut back on how often I manufacture that item.
In any case, 48k for the R3's and 20k for the LE's and Probots isenough for me to make a nice profit. But I am watching the sales on these new combat droids. Ifthey sell faster than expected,those prices will increase. I expect I may be raising the prices on the LE's and Probots soon.
Regarding Woody's comment about why "charging 3X the price means you have 3X the profit, if people will pay that price": it's not that simple. It's also a question of sales volume. If I charge 3X the price but it takes me longer than 3X the time to sell the same number of droids, then my volume decreases by more than the sales increase and I make less money in each given increment of time than I would make if I charged lower prices.
Malitevv wrote:
93% is what I am currently able to do and that gives me a rating of 102.
Kollos wrote:
91% only gives me 98 CR while 89% gives me 97 CR, so my guess would be 95% to get a combat rating of at least 100. And yes, when you spread OQ over the ingredients needed to do it, it is actually somewhat difficult to pull off.
Wow, that is lower than i sell to guildmates and close personal friends - glad Ciax isn't on Sunrunner!!!! How the hell does he even turn a profit?????? My R3's are stocked with 75% combat modules (not lucky enough to have good resources for 100%) with 1649 HAM and 40% resist (first time you call the droid it is 20% but everytime after that it reverts to 40%) And I sell out rapidly at 50k each. To think someone is charging half that makes my skin crawl. Hell the identical ADV Droid Brains are a big enough pain to keep up wiith and i have 2 factories and i am a Master Artisan as well.
Completely off topic - supposedly Dev's are trying to nerf droid resists to 20% please let them know this is totally unacceptable - it is bad enough that they nerfed our armor - but halving resists will kill us 
Khadim - Officailly Disgruntled Master Droid Engineer - Sunrunner
Meh. Either something changed over the weekend, or I need to find out what I was smoking so I can go buy some more of it because it must have been l33t sh1znit.
I just madethe following:
87% == CR 96
89% == CR 98
91% == CR 100
93% == CR 102 (Malitevv's result)
96% == CR 106
The 91% modules used the best copper ever on Ahazi - 874 Cond/954 OQ. I haven't tried buying or selling it but I suspect it'd go for 20 CPU without too much trouble. I charge 5k (roughly 60 CPU)for those combat modules to make sure I'm turning a decent profit on a rare and finite resource.
The 96% modules used Weakem, an unknown non-ferrous metal that sells for 300 CPU because it has both Cond and OQ over 950. It's the only metal to ever spawn like that on Ahazi and it's rare as all get out. I'd have to sell Combat Modules made with that stuff for 12k each just to break even on the opportunity cost, so I doubt I'll be making many of them. That'd drive my price for a Probot up to 75k to get a combat rating of 530 when my normal price is only 40k for a combat rating of 500.
I rarely, if ever, buy resources, which is why at 6cpu I make a profit. Profit is probably no more important to me than the enjoyment of the profession, and my reluctance to charge such prices for what is essentially a fun but functionally disappointing toy comes from the fact I've got too much of a conscience to be a decent businessman.
AO mat be right and I may in time decide that I need to charge more, but I doubt it, in addition to which I'm more likely to get utterly sick of the state of combat droids and delete my character, start from scratch.
Combat Probot 1094HAM with 2xlevel 6 armour modules
Combat Rating of 440 (139-148 Damage @ 0.75 Speed)
These ARE SELLING for 100k a piece (1-2 droids a day)
I can justify that in that I HAND MAKE them at the minute.. I'm doing a factory run of 100 Probots, at which point i'll drop the price to 60k each.
I charge 2k per droid repair pack C - 24 Use 1410 Heal
and 5k per reconsruction pack D - 27 Use 301 Heal
(both of those are using 2 advanced components and one basic in the sub-combines..)
They are selling well too..
I'm not making Combat R3's or LE's as they are far inferior..
Probot = 139-148 Damage @ 0.75 Speed
R3 = 130ish Damage @ 1.5 Speed
So to me the probot has twice the damage output of the R3...
I also tell ALL my customers that the droids are not built for tanking, and should only be used as DOT's